Secret Life of Bees

Just finished it. Pretty good book. Definitely recommended for women - guys may not dig it so much. There is some good drama and lessons to be learned from it. I thought it got a little slow in the middle, but it still will keep you interested. It's got "screenplay" written all over it. I'm sure this will be a movie within a couple years. Good writing and gripping story - I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

Learning Shakuhachi

So I decided to add another instrument to my stable, a shakuhachi flute. These came to Japan by way of China around 700 A.D. and were used by Zen monks as meditation devices. There are a ton of great references out there - just Google it and see what you get. The best place to begin the journey is probably Shakuhachi.com. Well let me tell you that it is one of the most difficult instruments to just make a sound on that I've ever tried. I can get damn near anybody to make a sound on a brass instrument within a couple minutes. Reeds are a little tougher because they "tickle". Obviously anybody can bang a piano or strum a guitar (badly) just to get a sound. I've been at this thing a couple days and only "luck" into getting a sound out of it every once in a while.

Luckily, there is supposed to be a really good teacher here in Cleveland. I've already sent him an email. Hey...maybe we can trade. I'm sure he's just dying to learn tuba!